Letter from Socialistan

A french libertarian lost in socialist territory
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  • Cédric Salvador

Why the “Social Contract” doesn’t mean anything Oct 3, 2014

Nothing new under the sun, but statists sure love this piece of fantasy to death, so I might as well give it a go too. The contract is fictional. It has never existed at any point in history So-called implicit consent cannot trump explicit dissent It should be obvious. Imagine if your neighbours barged in your house  and asked you at the point of a gun to pay them taxes, which "you implicitly consented to by living here". A common answer to this objection is that the State has legitimate authority on the land and your neighbours don't. Which is...

By Cédric Salvador Vote9 3

The bizarro world of the French political debate Sep 18, 2014

Welcome to a world where everything is upside down, nothing makes sense and cats and dogs live together. Welcome to the French political debate. A mere glimpse of it and you immediately get what's wrong with the country and why it doesn't get any better despite all the agitation of our political crooks(more coming on the criminality among our politicians in a future article). What's so remarkable about these debates? They all rest on a fundamental contradiction that none of the participants and few of the spectators seem to see : everyone claims to be the top anti-libertarian dog in the country...

By Cédric Salvador Vote2 0

Is the Welfare State the new Versailles Court? Sep 5, 2014

It's curious how the mind works. Sometimes, you're a little bored, you read or think about something, and you start doing strange ideas associations. Sometimes, they make sense. It's up to you to decide if this one does. I don't know about your country, but here in France you can often hear some variation of the statement "you need to buy social peace". It's the idea that if we let go of the Welfare State, or some of it, people will go wild and riot, so you have to throw money(previously taken from them by force by the agents of...

By Cédric Salvador Vote3 1

The “general interest” argument and why I hate it Sep 1, 2014

Why such a phrase as "I'm the only one defending the general interest!" has no place in a reason-and-evidence based debate.

By Cédric Salvador Vote9 0

Caramba! The bolivarian revolution engine is stalling big time. Jun 30, 2014

How good are roads when you don't have cars?

By Cédric Salvador Vote2 0

The Alstom Comedy Show May 20, 2014

What does this grandiose tell of cronyism, botched government attempts at interventionism and protectionist fantasies tell us about France?

By Cédric Salvador Vote2 1

Overview of the french political landscape May 18, 2014

Wanna know why France is screwed? Be my guest.

By Cédric Salvador Vote7 5

Venezuela : the revolution will not be motorized May 16, 2014

Car industry shining brightly in socialist paradise...not.

By Cédric Salvador Vote1 0

Thomas Piketty prend quelques libertés avec l’Histoire May 14, 2014

Ce billet est une traduction de l’article  Piketty Can’t Even Get His Basic Tax History Right de Robert P Murphy, que je remercie de m’avoir permis de publier.   Plus je lis Le capital au XXIe siècle de Thomas Piketty, plus je le trouve mauvais. Prenez ce passage: Il faut également ajouter la violence extrême de la crise des années 1930 aux États-Unis, ce qui conduit très vite à la mise en accusation des élites économiques et financières, dont il apparaît de plus en plus clairement aux yeux de l’opinion qu’elles se sont enrichies tout en conduisant le pays au désastre(rappelons que la...

By Cédric Salvador Vote0 3

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